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Haze Developer Sees Dim Future for UK Gaming Industry

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During a David Doak interview conducted by GamesIndustry.biz, the Free Radical Design co-founder (pictured left) issued strong comments regarding the current relationship between the UK government and video game developers.

"Here's an industry that 20 years ago we led the world in--through bedroom rock-and-roll development on the early home computers--and now there's a very real chance that what is now a real profession is going to be driven out of the UK
because they don't make any concessions to it," Doak said. His independent studio resides in Nottingham, England.

Doak--whose past credits include Rare's GoldenEye 007 and Free Radical's TimeSplitters series--was also critical of the UK's focus on video games as a moral issue. "The UK Government needs to do something more useful than just criticizing violent content in video games," he said.

Earlier this year, Labour party MP Keith Vaz met with Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss the issue of violent videogames being made available to children. Following that meeting, Blair had mostly good things to say about the industry, stating, "The talent and creativity that our industry houses and nurtures is what makes the games industry a part of Britain's cultural heritage, and more specifically, an important asset in Britain's creative and cultural future."

What Doak would prefer is assistance, rather than talk. He pointed out the UK government's affinity for the film industry, while at the same time bemoaning the general disregard for the many video game developers across the country. "If you look up the best places to live in the world, Nottingham is not British Columbia," he quipped, explaining that personnel are often being pulled away to countries like Canada, where game development is currently thriving due in part to government support.

Doak was in Paris for the Ubidays event, there to promote his studio's upcoming first-person shooter Haze. Although the game was originally expected to release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, the game's multiplatform status became unclear when publisher Ubisoft began referring to the title only as a PlayStation 3 game. Doak mentioned that, while the game will debut on the PlayStation 3, other versions are in development for "all platforms."